Bawku Central Member of Parliament, Mahama Ayariga, has confirmed the escalation of the conflict in Bawku beyond the Upper East region township.
He says the two parties in the disturbances have extended the brawl to the regional capital, Bolgatanga, some neighbouring communities and even to the national capital, Greater Accra.
He confirms the killing of a deputy registrar of the Bolgatanga Technical University who was a former Assemblyman for Sabongari, an area in Bawku where the late lecturer hails from.
Speaking on Ghana Tonight with Alfred Ocansey Thursday, January 18, 2024, the legislator after speaking about the renewed clashes narrated the dastardly murder of the lecturer in Bolgatanga, which he said is linked to the Bawku insurgence.
“…And then in Bolgatanga, some unknown persons went and attacked and killed one of our former assemblymen there who is a lecturer at a technical university and not just shot and killed him but used cutlasses and all sort of machetes and mutilated his body and this is really dastardly, this is unacceptable, my condolences go to the wife and children, the family, his community,” he said.
He expressed worry over the spread of the conflict to others parts of the country saying “clearly, the situation in Bawku is deteriorating badly and unfortunately it’s extending to other parts of the country. A couple of days ago, residents of Bawku living in Accra, actually engaged in gunfire exchanges.
“Some months ago, there were similar assaults in Ashaiman and so increasingly, it is getting outside Bawku and then citizens of Bawku in different parts of the country attacking one another. I think that government has to be honest and do the right things to bring closure to the situation in Bawku.”
The Bawku Central lawmaker, appealed to “all sides to stop what they are doing. This attempt to begin to attack one another outside Bawku in Bolgatanga, in Accra, Walewale, on the roads, Tamale etc, Zebilla, Binduri, all those districts around us; it’ll not help so I’m appealing to everybody to cease those attacks and urge government to be firm and resolve the issues in Bawku.”
He, however, narrated the murder of another gentleman he refused to talk about at the time it happened due to the circumstances surrounding his death.
According to Mr. Ayariga, the deceased was identified with ammunition which raised suspicions over what he was doing with the arms, making the MP find it difficult to describe him as victim.
“Five days ago another gentleman was shot and killed. The reason why I haven’t spoken about him is that the soldiers who went to retrieve his body found some ammunition in his pocket so naturally one would ask what he was doing with the ammunition in his pocket. So such a person cannot easily be classified as a victim.
“That’s why I never spoke about that. But those who were shot and killed yesterday (Wednesday), clearly, that was dastardly, that was unacceptable and the perpetrators must be searched for by the law enforcement agencies and dealt with,” he condemned.
Two individuals lost their lives with several others sustaining injuries in a shooting incident near the Bawku Police station on Wednesday, January 17, 2024.
The injured victims were transferred to a nearby local healthcare facility for medical attention.
The Bawku Municipal Chief Executive, Hamza Amadu, confirmed the tragic event, stating, “One person died on the spot during the shooting incident, while the second person died on Thursday.”
